Loss of heterozygosity in 8p is associated with microinvasion in colorectal carcinoma

• Published in: Genes chromosomes & cancer Vol. 11; no. 3; p. 195
• Main Authors: Kelemen, P R, Yaremko, M L, Kim, A H, Montag, A, Michelassi, F, Westbrook, C A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.11.1994
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - genetics; Adenocarcinoma - pathology; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Chromosome Deletion; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 8; Colorectal Neoplasms - genetics; Colorectal Neoplasms - pathology; DNA, Satellite - analysis; Female; Heterozygote; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Invasiveness - genetics; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
• ISSN: 1045-2257
• DOI: 10.1002/gcc.2870110308

Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) from the short arm of chromosome 8 is frequent in a variety of malignancies, suggesting the presence of a tumor suppressor gene in this region. Previous studies suggested that this deletion may correlate with higher clinicopathologic stages in colorectal cancer, but others did not support this finding; in part, this difficulty is due to the low heterozygosity of the RFLP markers that were used. Here we report on a preliminary investigation in which we used highly informative microsatellite markers to determine whether deletions of 8p are correlated with poor prognostic features. Paraffin-embedded tumor tissue from 15 patients was analyzed with a panel of three microsatellite markers that are known to be sites of frequent LOH. Fourteen of the 15 cases were informative with at least one marker, and 7 showed LOH. Analysis of clinical features showed that there was no relation of 8p LOH with patient age or tumor stage, grade, location, or pattern of growth. However, a statistically significant correlation was seen between LOH and lymphatic, vascular, or perineural microinvasion (Fisher exact test, P = 0.01). This histologic feature is known to be a stage-independent indicator of prognosis. Our data suggest that 8p LOH may be associated with poor outcome and demonstrate the utility of these microsatellite markers for its detection.